Rukongai (Darkrai and Skitty)
Rukongai (流魂街, Wandering Soul City), is the largest portion of Soul Society and the most populated. Overview Past Rukongai Rukongai is divided into 320 districts (80 in North Rukongai, 80 in West Rukongai, etc.), each numbered in descending order on how far they are from the center; this results in the higher-numbered (and farther) districts decaying into slums. Thus, while District 1 is peaceful and lawful, much like the antiseptic lifestyle of early-Edo Era Kyoto, District 80 is a hardscrabble, violent, crime-infested area that more depicts Heian era Kyoto. The duties of the Gotei 13 Divisions include defending allocated districts of Rukongai.1 However, which Division is responsible for which district has not been stated. The living standards in Rukongai decline sharply beyond the fiftieth district, with an increase in people wearing rags and no footwear. According to statistics from the last 550 years, nobody is wearing sandals after the 59th districts. 101 years ago, many souls in Rukongai mysteriously vanished due to the experiments of Sōsuke Aizen. These occurrences continued for about a month before the Shinigami sent Kensei Muguruma and a team from the 9th Division to investigate. The Visored were Hollowfied in a forest in the west of the 6th ward of the Fugai District on the same night that the 9th Division team arrived to begin their investigation. Tessai Tsukabishi used forbidden Kidō to teleport the Visored back to the lab of Kisuke Urahara in Seireitei in a bid to save them. When the balance of souls between the Human World and Soul Society is endangered, the Shinigami can request permission to kill citizens in Rukongai in order to restore the balance of souls between the two worlds. When the Vandenreich destroy a large amount of Hollows, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi orders members of his Division to kill 28,000 Rukongai residents without first attaining permission. Present Rukongai The present Rukongai is as different to the past Rukongai was night is to day. Unlike Rukongai previously, Rukongai as it is now is true modern urban center. Ironically, the Rukongai itself is more modern than the Seireitei, and the buildings range from standard houses, markets, to skyscrapers. The living standards for commoners has greatly been enhanced, however, nobles still live in larger houses, receive more income, and have overall more privileges than those who live in the Rukongai. Due to the reorganization of the Rukongai, and the Seireitei's transfer to the central bay, the Rukongai has it's own government at the state level now. Notable Locations Parliament Seireitei Bay the Seireitei Bay is a broad inlet of water the permeates a good amount of the new Soul Society. Due to the fact that makes up a large amount of the new Rukongai, it is considered vital to the city's survival. In the direct center of the bay lies the Seireitei, hence the name "Seireitei Bay". Many urban legends exist concerning the bay, ranging from underwater monsters, to sunken kingdoms, to even a prison system built under the bay designed by the Central 46 to house more dangerous criminals. Many of these legends are the fanciful ideas of young children.